Get better brake pedal when adding power brakes
 

We had a '64 c10 recently that someone had used rebuilt parts to install a power drum/drum brake system. Looked to be a fairly nice job & seemed all bases were covered--even had what we believed to be a Captainfab booster adapter, plus an adjustable proportioning valve on rear line, adjusted correctly by the way. Papers in the dash showed new wheel cylinders, we checked & they were correct for the truck; but NO papers on the power brake parts. The pedal just had too much travel to stop & didn't have the right 'feel'.

After several days head-banging and a couple hours bleeding all 4 wheels and adjusting the rears we had another theory:maybe it wasn't getting enough juice-per-pump. We looked at several online chains & finally found one site that gave specs for their mc's. We then found that a 1967 C20 WITH STANDARD DRUM BRAKES had one optional mc with a 1.125-inch bore; our '60-'66 all seem to have mc's with a 1.000-inch bore; and it bolted right on. This bigger bore mc did what the system needed; it provided a noticeably shorter travel and the right "feel". My partner & I both thought the inadequate brakes were at least partly why the po sold it to our customer so cheaply. And the rebuilt Fenco mc was less than $20. Sharing no $-interests in this company, it was A*TO-Z*NE that showed the bore-diameters. I'm sure others prolly sell the same thing, but I don't know what to ask for. Guess you could use a vernier cal. to measure the rear diam. of the mc-piston or bore?

We hope this helps save time and $ for other diy'ers--esp. us who love these old trucks.

Re: Get better brake pedal when adding power brakes
 

Thanks for posting your issue and the solution you found.
My C20 66 power brakes stop me great, but the pedal did feel weird. I adjusted the push rod to engage the brakes sooner, and now they feel a lot better. But now you got me thinking that I need to double check what bore the Master Cylinder is. I just went to O'Rielly's and asked for a 1'ton MC for a 79 chevy truck. So yes, now I need to check the bore.
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Re: Get better brake pedal when adding power brakes
 

Wow! Bet it does stop good. Look at Autozone's selections for '79 one-ton pickup with NO filters other than just '79 1-ton pickup with 5.7 liter engine: 1.250-inch (NOT 1.125-inch!) and 1.312-inch bores...
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...mString=search

But, if i ain't broke...